Developer presses on with plan for towers$2.2b project faces money, land issues

Despite political and economic headwinds, Boston developer Ted Raymond is plowing ahead with his plan to build a pair of skyscrapers as part of a $2.2 billion development on the current site of the

Raymond, chairman of Raymond Property Co., filed plans with the city yesterday to demolish the hulking garage and replace it with two glass office towers, one with 42 stories on Congress Street, and the other with 52 stories, wedged into the block between New Chardon and New Sudbury streets.

The proposal also calls for a hotel, stores, restaurants, and a pair of residential buildings along the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway.

The firm selected to design the development is Cook + Fox Architects, of New York, officials familiar with the project said.

The design was not included in plans filed yesterday, but a rendering posted on the project's website shows two sleek glass towers open to large amounts of natural light. The larger of the two towers, rivaling the 52-story Prudential Building in height, would be a shimmering three-tiered building that culminates in an angular crown.

City Hall has already voiced reservations, not least because Ray mond proposes to build the bigger tower on land he doesn't own.

Because of that, Raymond separated his plan into two development scenarios: one that includes only the property he owns, and a second one that stretches onto property occupied by a newly renovated Boston police station and an NStar facility.

Raymond must acquire that property to build the larger of the two towers, or rights to build there. He would also have to relocate or build around the police station and the NStar facility.

A representative for Raymond, Justine Griffin, said the project's planning consultant, the Cambridge firm Chan Krieger Sieniewicz, recommended that NStar and city parcels be included in the development.

The Boston Redevelopment Authority is convening a group of neighbors to make recommendations.

A spokeswoman said NStar has been in preliminary discussions with Raymond about its facility.

"We need to evaluate if it can be relocated or if the developer could obtain a permit to build over it," said the spokeswoman, Caroline Allen.

Raymond's gambit is made harder by the timing: A mayoral election is coming in November. Already, one opponent of Mayor Thomas M. Menino, City Councilor Michael Flaherty, is accusing city officials of going too light on Raymond's proposal.

"Why are we as a city allowing a developer to make the rules here?" Flaherty asked. "The City of Boston just invested roughly $5 million of taxpayer money in the police station. Now, we're selling it off to a bidder of the BRA's choice."

The BRA's director, John Palmieri, sharply rejected that criticism, saying the process for considering Raymond's proposal is just getting started.

"To suggest that we're not paying enough attention to good planning is nonsense," he said.

Another challenge is money. Loans for commercial development are almost nonexistent. But Griffin said Raymond has strong financial partners who would finance him once he receives city approvals, hoped for in 12 to 18 months.

His partners are the pension fund of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and Lewis Trust Group, a British real estate firm.

"We will be well-positioned to capitalize on the first seeds of economic recovery in Boston," Griffin said.

A Boston developer on Wednesday filed plans to replace the hulking Government Center Garage with a new complex of commercial and residential buildings, including a 600-foot office tower that would be one of the tallest skyscrapers in the city.

The project by HYM Investment Group LLC would demolish much of the garage to make way for six new buildings with 771 residences, 1.3 million square feet of office space, 1,100 parking spaces, and 82,500 square feet of stores and restaurants.

In addition to the 600-foot office tower, the plan also calls for a pair of large residential buildings -- one 470 feet and another 275 feet. Those three buildings would be situated on the western side of Congress Street closest to Government Center. On the opposite side of Congress, HYM would build a 275-foot hotel and condominium building, additional offices and stores that would form a new public square along the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway.

If approved by Boston regulators, construction could start late next year, according to HYM, whose managing director is Thomas N. O’Brien, a former head of the Boston Redevelopment Authority in the 1990s. The complex was designed by CBT Architects.

The project would demolish the portion of the 11-story Government Center Garage that straddles Congress Street near City Hall, thus removing a massive barrier that divides the North End and West End neighborhoods from Government Center. The 4.8-acre site is one of the last major redevelopment parcels along the greenway, and would bring a new level of height to an area that mostly consists of mid-rise government buildings.

Overall, his proposal would include 2.4 million square feet of new space on both sides of Congress Street. Construction would be broken into multiple phases, starting with the 470-foot, or 45-story, residential tower that would include both apartments and condominiums, followed by the 600-foot, 48-story office building, the hotel, and some additional offices, residences and stores.

The project would retain about 1,100 parking spaces in a portion of the old garage that would would be hidden from view by the new buildings on the west side of Congress Street. It would also have storage space for about 850 bicycles, and a Hubway rental station. Given its size and complexity, it would likely take many years to complete.

HYM has not disclosed a price tag, but the prior project proposed by Raymond was estimated to cost $2.2 billion. At full build-out, according to HYM, the project would produce about $11 million annually in taxes and would generate about 2,600 construction jobs.

If I remember correctly the first proposal was planned to be around 750'. The site is (unfortunately) zoned for only 600' and that (along with the recession) helped to contribute to the initial development's demise.

CBT did the new proposal. I like that they went with a Boston firm. The garage has to go, along with the rest of Govt Center, but I don't see this happening any time soon. Big projects like this seem to die slow deaths in Boston.

Combination of a more difficult approval process (through the Boston Redevelopment Authority) and rampant NIMBYism. There is also outsize influence from Mayor Menino that can negatively affect developments (and has throughout his tenure).

Logan Airport being about 2 miles across the harbor is also a limiting factor. The FAA put the kibosh on a planned supertall in downtown Boston out of concern of nearby flight paths a few years ago.